Metal Cleats... "next" year?

Thought I would open up the discussion about metal cleats and if there exists the possibility, on an annual basis, of revisiting the decision to allow them in ASA tournament play. I know the initial decision was not to allow this past season.

I bring this up primarily because all the girls who used metal cleats in HS that I know greatly prefer the metal for overall traction and game play. They also had issues with adjusting back to rubber cleats...

Thoughts?

 

Best thing to do is go back to rubber in high school and the girls won't have to get adjusted back to them come summer. People can say what they want but the main reason most girls wear metal is because it sounds and looks "cool". No real big advantage in metal over rubber except for sometimes in the out field as unlike baseball our infields are dirt where in my opinion rubber is just as good and maybe better. I know when my oldest girl went to play in college she had to wear metal and hated them. She said it slowed her down and even contributed to a sprained ankle. If metal really helped I'd be all for it but no big advantage and they do cause some injuries to those that wear them and to those that get cleated.

 

HS will never go back to rubber because of concerns over Title 9 action....

.. there are big time traction advantages to metal, no doubt, but certainly you can get your ankle caught more easily in a sprain scenario and you certainly can get spiked. My daughter has a very nice scar on her leg where she spiked herself diving for a ball at a camp this summer but in the end it worked out to her advantage because she didnt notice it until the college coach saw the blood running down her leg and suggested she get a band aid for it. She got some "tough" points for that!

 

Explain the connection?

There certainly are a lot more issues beside metal cleats if Title 9 was the reason... like better fields for one.

 

I wish travel ball would allow the metal cleats at least at the 18U level. Metal cleats do provide the best traction for all field types in my opinion and I did not see any injuries due to metal cleats in high school this past year...knock on wood.

 

poor fields... are on a case by case basis. If someone wants to assert that that their HS field is substandard then they would have to bring suit with Title 9 as the basis against that individual school district. This would involve retaining an attorney and prosecuting the action.. an expensive proposition for one or a few families. On top of this, what is considered poor or substandard is up to interpretation... recall the old saying ones mans trash is an other mans treasure... there is no guarantee of success.

On the other hand the governing body stating that boys can use metal cleats while girls cannot for a sport that is ostensibly the same is a statewide issue... well set up for a class action lawsuit.. you know the ones where you get $1.50 and the attorney get a 6 figure amount in attorney's fees? I am not a practicing attorney but IMO saying boys can use metal cleats while girls cannot is a prima facie Title 9 violation and was probably what led to the decision to allow them in the first place.

Frankly, they would have to mandate rubber cleats for boys in order for it to change.. thats my two cents.

 

Its a different sport under different conditions... are girls wearing cups?

 

you wanted an opinion from a legal perspective and you got one. If want to engage in the absurd you can dialogue with someone else...

 

Metal Cleats vs. Rubber

For those that think the rubber cleats offer the same traction on dirt infields, you must not have seen the conditions of some of the fields that the 18's played ASA on this summer. Walnut Creek and the fields in Charlotte were like playing on a tennis court...probably because of water restrictions, etc. Metal cleats certainly allow more traction under those conditions.

FYI there is such a thing as a cup for ladies...a lot of catchers wear this necessary protection.